The present invention relates generally to fastener collation strips, and more particularly to a new and improved fastener collation strip for effectively supporting a plurality of fasteners within a magazine portion of a fastener driving tool in a substantially friction-reduced manner, as the plurality of fasteners are transported or conveyed through the magazine portion of the fastener-driving tool and toward the nosepiece portion of the fastener-driving tool so as to be driven into an underlying substrate by means of a suitable driver mechanism movably disposed within a drive bore of the fastener-driving tool, thereby effectively reducing the risk that the fasteners would otherwise be undesirably retarded or xe2x80x9chung-upxe2x80x9d within the magazine, or become jammed within the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool, whereby such malfunctions of the fastener-driving tool would correspondingly lead to an improper and unsuitable discharge of the fasteners from the fastener-driving tool and an undesirably improper insertion of one or more fasteners into the underlying substrate.
Fastener-driving tools, which may comprise pneumatically-operated, combustion-powered, or powder actuated tools, are well-known in the industry and are conventionally utilized for driving fasteners, having a point at a first end of a shank portion and a head upon a second opposite end of the shank portion, into an underlying substrate so as to secure a suitable workpiece to or upon the underlying substrate. Typical fasteners may comprise, for example, nails which may be forcibly driven into wood substrates, or drive pins which may be forcibly driven into concrete, masonry, or steel substrates. Typical fastener-driving tools usually comprise a magazine within which fastener collation strips, comprising a serial arrangement of the fasteners, are movably supported so as to convey the serially arranged fasteners from the magazine portion of the fastener-driving tool to a drive bore portion of the fastener-driving tool within which a suitable driver mechanism is movably disposed for impacting a leading one of the fasteners disposed within the collation strip so as to serially discharge the fasteners from the fastener-driving tool. Examples of fastener-collation strips for disposition within magazine portions of fastener-driving tools are disclosed within U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,972 which issued to Rohrmoser et al. on Apr. 4, 2000, U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,340 which issued to Ernst et al. on Dec. 3, 1991, U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,821 which issued to Steffen et al. on Jun. 12, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,551 which issued to Whitledge on Jan. 12, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,618 which issued to Haytayan on Aug. 15, 1978, U.S. Pat. No. 3,954,176 which issued to Haytayan on May 4, 1976, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,459 which issued to Haytayan on Dec. 23, 1975.
With reference being made to FIG. 1, which corresponds to FIG. 17 of the aforenoted Ernst et al. patent, a plurality of fasteners 12, each having a shank portion 18, a head portion 22, and a transition portion 24 interconnecting the head portion 22 to the shank portion 18, are respectively disposed within a collation strip comprising a plurality of sleeve members each of which comprises an upper breakable portion 36 and a lower annular portion 34. Adjacent sleeve members of the collation strip are integrally connected together by means of upper and lower frangible bridge members 74,76, and the axially central portion of each sleeve member comprises a pair of concave recesses 40,42 within which a pair of windows 44,48 are defined and through which shank portions 46,50 are visible. The collation strip is adapted to be movably supported within a magazine section, not shown, of the fastener-driving tool, and the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool supplies the collation strip and plurality of fasteners 12 to a guiding device which comprises grooved portions 164,166 for accommodating the lower annular portion 34 of each sleeve member of the collation strip, and a pair of oppositely disposed rail or rib members 160,162. The rail or rib members 160,162 correspond to similar rail members, not shown, provided within the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool and are adapted to be disposed within the recessed portions 40,42 of the collation strip so as to receive and guide each collation strip of fasteners 12 as the same is moved from the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool and toward the nosepiece section and guiding device of the fastener-driving tool. A driving mechanism of the fastener-driving tool can then impact the first or leading one of the fasteners 12 in order to discharge the fastener 12 from the fastener-driving tool and thereby drive the fastener 12 into an underlying substrate.
While the aforenoted fastener-driving tools have been commercially successful and have performed quite satisfactorily in the field, it is desirable to ensure that, as the collation strips of fasteners are transported or conveyed through the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool and toward the nosepiece section of the fastener-driving tool such that the fasteners can be serially discharged from the fastener-driving tool and driven into an underlying substrate at predetermined locations thereof, the risk of the collation strips of fasteners being undesirably retarded or xe2x80x9chung-upxe2x80x9d within the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool, or of becoming jammed within the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool, is effectively reduced. As can readily be appreciated or understood, if any of the collation strips of fasteners do become retarded or xe2x80x9chung-upxe2x80x9d within the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool, or do become jammed within the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool, such malfunctions of the fastener-driving tool would correspondingly lead to an improper and unsuitable discharge of the fasteners from the fastener-driving tool and an undesirably improper insertion of one or more fasteners into the underlying substrate. More particularly, it is desirable to effectively reduce, as much as possible, any frictional contact generated between the collation strips of fasteners and the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool whereby the conveyance or transportation of the collation strips of fasteners through the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool is effectively facilitated or positively enhanced so as to render such conveyance or transportation of the collation strips of fasteners through the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool as smooth as possible. In view of the fact that the frictional forces, generated between any two members disposed in contact with each other, are directly proportional to the area of contact defined between the two members disposed in contact with each other, it is desirable to effectively reduce the contact area defined between the collation strips of fasteners and the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool as the collation strips of fasteners are conveyed or transported along the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved fastener collation strip which is adapted to be supported upon the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool in such a manner the frictional forces generated between the fastener collation strip and the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool will be effectively reduced so as to accordingly ensure that the fastener collation strip, carrying the plurality of fasteners therewithin, is conveyed or transported through the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool with a minimum amount of friction whereby the fastener collation strip does not become retarded or xe2x80x9chung-upxe2x80x9d within the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool, or does not become jammed within the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool whereby such malfunctions-within the fastener-driving tool would otherwise correspondingly lead to an improper and unsuitable discharge of the fasteners from the fastener-driving tool and an undesirably improper insertion of one or more fasteners into the underlying substrate.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved fastener collation strip for serially conveying or transporting a plurality of fasteners through a magazine section of a fastener-driving tool and toward a driving bore of the fastener-driving tool within which a driver member is movably disposed for engaging the leading one of the plurality of fasteners so as to drive the leading fastener through the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool and into an underlying substrate.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fastener collation strip for serially conveying or transporting a plurality of fasteners within a magazine section of a fastener-driving tool and toward a driving bore of the fastener-driving tool wherein a driver member is movably disposed for discharging the leading one of the plurality of fasteners from the drive-bore of the fastener-driving tool and for driving the leading fastener into an underlying substrate, wherein the fastener collation strip has new and improved structure integrally incorporated thereon for effectively minimizing the surface contact area defined between each sleeve member of the fastener collation strip and the rail members of magazine section of the fastener-driving tool as the fastener collation strip is conveyed or transported along the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fastener collation strip for serially conveying or transporting a plurality of fasteners within a magazine section of a fastener-driving tool and toward a driving bore of the fastener-driving tool wherein a driver member is movably disposed for discharging the leading one of the plurality of fasteners from the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool and for driving the leading fastener into an underlying substrate, wherein the fastener collation strip has new and improved structure integrally incorporated thereon for effectively minimizing the surface contact area defined between each sleeve member of the fastener collation strip and the rail members of magazine section of the fastener-driving tool as the fastener collation strip is conveyed or transported along the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool so as to effectively reduce or minimize the frictional forces generated between the fastener collation strip and the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fastener collation strip for serially conveying or transporting a plurality of fasteners within a magazine section of a fastener-driving tool and toward a driving bore of the fastener-driving tool wherein a driver member is movably disposed for discharging the leading one of the plurality of fasteners from the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool and for driving the leading fastener into an underlying substrate, wherein the fastener collation strip has new and improved structure integrally incorporated thereon for effectively minimizing the surface contact area defined between each sleeve member of the fastener collation strip and the rail members of magazine section of the fastener-driving tool as the fastener collation strip is conveyed or transported along the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool so as to effectively reduce or minimize the frictional forces generated between the fastener collation strip and the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool so as to effectively prevent the fastener collation strip from being xe2x80x9chung-upxe2x80x9d or becoming jammed within the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool.
A last object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved fastener collation strip for serially conveying or transporting a plurality of fasteners within a magazine section of a fastener-driving tool and toward a driving bore of the fastener-driving tool wherein a driver member is movably disposed for discharging the leading one of the plurality of fasteners from the drive bore of the fastener-driving tool and for driving the leading fastener into an underlying substrate, wherein the fastener collation strip has new and improved structure integrally incorporated thereon for effectively minimizing the surface contact area defined between each sleeve member of the fastener collation strip and the rail members of magazine section of the fastener-driving tool as the fastener collation strip is conveyed or transported along the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool so as to effectively reduce or minimize the frictional forces generated between the fastener collation strip and the rail members of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool so as to effectively prevent the fastener collation strip from being xe2x80x9chung-upxe2x80x9d or becoming jammed within the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool whereby improper discharge of the fasteners from the fastener-driving tool and improper insertion of one or more fasteners into the underlying substrate is correspondingly prevented.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance-with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved fastener collation strip which comprises a plurality of sleeve members which are integrally connected together in a serial linear array by means of suitably frangible upper and lower bridge portions, and wherein, in accordance with the unique and novel principles and teachings of the present invention, each one of the sleeve members comprises an upper pair of downwardly extending rail-engaging members or projections disposed upon diametrically opposite sides of each sleeve member, and a lower pair of upwardly extending rail-engaging members or projections likewise disposed upon diametrically opposite sides of each sleeve member so as to also be respectively vertically aligned with each one of the downwardly extending rail-engaging members or projections. Each one of the rail-engaging members or projections has, for example, a frusto-conical or frusto-pyramidal geometrical configuration wherein, more particularly, side portions of each rail-engaging member or projection converge toward each other within at least two mutually orthogonally located planes such that the tip portion of each rail-engaging member or projection defines a substantially point-contact region for actually engaging an upper or lower surface portion of each oppositely disposed magazine rail member. In this manner, since only substantially point contact engagement is defined between each one of the rail-engaging members or projections of each sleeve member of the fastener collation strip and each rail member of the magazine section of the fastener-driving tool, frictional forces are effectively minimized so as to accordingly minimize the tendency of the fastener collation strips from being xe2x80x9chung-upxe2x80x9d or from becoming jammed within the magazine section of the fastener driving tool.